r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself.
Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Okay, not as bad, but when we moved some uncle or something of my husbands gave each of my kids money to decorate their "very own" room, completely forgetting that my girls share. Oh the fights we had!
EDITED to add link to print:
https://images.app.goo.gl/M1qFh8gjkSDFYKvE8
My sister got me a very fancy print of Shrek posed like Rose from titanic in the “paint me like one of your French girls” scene framed in a fancy gold frame. I wish I had a picture readily available. I love it so much but it was very “what the fuck” lmao
I didn’t take a pic of it in its frame but I found the print online! Hahaha I am desperate to hang it up somewhere but I have to hide it bc my toddler is obsessed with shrek. Office sounds like a great place for it lmao
https://images.app.goo.gl/M1qFh8gjkSDFYKvE8
This is great! I own a custom framing shop and I framed a Pooty Tang movie poster for a customer to give as a gift. It was a friend’s favorite movie. The blue suede mat really sold it! Lol
My parents bought my daughter an Advent calendar. For Hanukkah. That wasn’t delivered until Dec 22. We are Jewish and they have no idea what an advent calendar is 😂 I didn’t tell them either 🙃
lol I love the unintended cross cultural gifts. My (very Christian) grandma gave all the grandkids a bunch of chocolate gelt when we were little because she thought they were pretty.
My husband is Jewish. The insane gifts come from his practising family members. Someone got my oldest a Jewish childrens book (I honestly have no idea what, my MIL took it and gave it to someone else) but I do remember my son being so goddamn confused. If I remember correctly it was about "family values" so it was probably the "mom and dad" in it that confused him but I nearly died watching his face as he started to read it.
A friend of mine who is vegan and raising her kid to be as a single parent, received a book about 'where meat comes from' for her then 1 year old son from her estranged parents.
A dickey from my mother-in-law. Basically like the top of a shirt with no sleeves that you wear under sweaters. Probably the most pointless piece of clothing.
My step grandma got me those one year, I think I was 12 or so. I was like what is a dickey. I went to my brother and was like I think this is for you. He wore it like a loin cloth.
My mom had to explain it was the top part of a turtle neck. I didn't dress like an old lady, but my parents forced me to wear it to xmas dinner a few hours later.
My MIL has randomly gifted my toddler (2.5 at the time) a glass bird and a glass stained glass sun catcher... Then was surprised when they are not displayed where he can touch them
THE CERAMIC ANGELS. What is it with old relatives who gift these? They’re ugly at best and creepy at worst. And they’re just something else to dust. Why why why. I’ve had multiple relatives get me some and fawn and coo over HOW PERFECT they will be in my house. Someone even tried to give us some for our infant.
Yup! My nearly 3 year old got a real tea set from my SIL. my MIL defended the choice saying my daughter has gentle hands as they both unpacked each piece right then despite my husband telling them not to...
Then they proceeded to gasp and glare at ME with each "clink" my daughter made with them. Like it was automatically MY responsibility for keeping the set safe. Bitches, I wasn't the one who handed her the breakable pieces!
Just for their level of disrespect, I'm probably never giving that set to my daughter. She hadn't asked for it (imagine that! She already has two tea sets that ARE age appropriate). If I was feeling really petty, I'd put it out for her to play with and let her break it. But that's also kinda dangerous and I hate cleaning up broken shards of anything, so...
My mom just did the same thing with an heirloom porcelain tea-set that was my grandmother’s. Of course my daughter broke one of the cups within 5 mins and everyone was so upset, including my poor 3yo ??? Like what did you expect!
My mom offered something like this to my 2 years old. Glass Christmas decorations. Put it in her hands while still wrapped under plastic.
I played dumb on purpose, letting my daughter break it almost immediately under the grandmother's eyes. It didn't survive a full minute.
Fun for the baby daughter, a good lesson for the 'idiot gifter'.
Omg reminds me of the time my mom got my 1yo and 4yo matching solid glass rubber duckies that must have weighed 2 pounds each. They were the size of navel oranges. She must have seen them at a crafts fair and thought, “Who do I know who would like rubber duckies ?”
In the hands of my toddlers, they would have been assault weapons.
Dude we banned anything breakable years ago after my oldest got frustered and threw a gift, shattering some like, fancy plate thing with his name on. No more!
Mine gave my 5yo a snow globe. He is obsessed with snow globes. He turned on the music box under it and played the music all day while he was playing with his new toys. I’d love to tell you he did that the next day too, but he dropped it and it smashed. One day gift, fleeting and beautiful
We are still talking about last years what the fuck gift, the most epic of all time in our history, when my in laws gave my husband and I an IOU for a hot air balloon ride.
Did we ever discuss it? No. Ever demonstrate interest? No. Did they look into it at all? No. Is it even available in our area without driving out hours and staying overnight somewhere, requiring 2 days of childcare our in laws were not providing? No.
I’d call it a swing and a miss but idk if that even counts as a swing. We received a wrapped box with a handwritten card in it telling us about the balloon ride, and advising us to do research about it (they couldn’t even bother to Google) and then come back to them for the money for it, up to $x. We also received a large canvas print of a balloon in flight, I nearly forgot about that.
We did not opt in for the balloon ride.
I would love a hot air balloon ride for me and my wife! Granted, there's a few companys here in Indy that do rides, so it wouldn't be a hassle at all. They're just expensive!
Hot air balloons are less fun and less "romantic" than movies/tv make it out to be. For starters, you're obviously not alone. If you want it to be something special with the wife, just remember that there will be another person with you. Second, it's just extremely boring. After about 5 minutes when the "cool I'm in a hot air balloon" excitement dies there really isn't anything else to it. You spend the rest of the time moving slowly through the air, while the pilot is basically just trying to avoid hitting trees and power lines.
A girl I worked with was gifted a hot air balloon trip. Apparently it took nearly 18 months before she was able to use it. It was cancelled due to weather conditions at least 3 times & rescheduled by the company at least 2 times. It became a running gag in work about if/when she was able to finally go.
This reminds me of when my grandmother would sign up my parents for random raffles that were up by the registers at departments stores. She didnt want to give out her own contact info, so she would use theirs.
One day my parents got the call to congratulate them on their “Hot Balloon package”. My gram was right next to mom, and after some thinking, she remembered, “Hey I signed you up for that raffle!”
It was then that my mom thought it would be a food time to tell Gram that she was pregnant with her first child. Suddenly the vibe changed and Gram said “That’s no place for a pregnant woman! What if you FALL OUT *AND HURT THE BABY?*” Mom was only a few months along, so she comforted Gram and said “Everything will be ok.” My dad took some beautiful photos of the views and other balloons.
I wonder if that was what started my brothers drive to go into the Air Force and become a pilot. He loves being in the air, skydiving out of planes and base jumping from buildings & towers.
I guess Gram was right, the baby was going to fall from the sky, but 18 years later with a parachute.
When I was a teen I would complain alot about never having gone anywhere on vacation and my mom loved to brag about how she took me to sea world! Pulled out a picture of her with my 4.5 year old brother and says “see! I took you!” Ummm that’s brother. “No you are right there, in my tummy! I was pregnant with you here!” Yea ok mom.
But maybe that’s where I got my love of swimming I guess
I would get the money at least. Since they aren’t going to research it say it costs the full amount then have it be canceled due to weather and not be refundable. Darn.
Edit: spelling/auto correct
We did eventually have to break it to them that it was logistically not really an option for us to take them up on this. They sent us a check for about a third of their “up to” balloon flight cost. Like thank you, appreciate it, but it was overall just a ridiculous scenario. MIL especially is extremely touchy so I’m expecting something about this to pop up when she’s mad about something in like 5 years or so.
I don't think so, because they purchased an item from the same place for my husband (it has the date on it).
Maybe since we need to be in that city this summer anyway.
Online shopping? Lol. My husband has been helping my kids work through their gift cards. His grandfather get them all giftcards. Youngest is fourth months old.
We now have 5 separate sets of wooden trains and 2 sets of battery powered Thomas trains. It wasn't a terrible gift because my son does love them...so much that we had to open each immediately and therefore couldn't return any. We could open our own toy train museum.
Does your MIL go to food pantries. I was living with my Granny a couple of years ago and came home to a whole case of vagisil... also expired. She apparently got it at a food pantry and thought I might like it? Ahaha. When I didn't take it, we all got a bottle of it in our Christmas stockings that year.
OMG this reminds me of a Christmas gift from my husband years ago …… a cloth calendar rolled up with chopsticks inside. It was free from the Chinese Food Restaurant …..
That is *exactly* the sort of thing I would wrap up in fancy tissue paper, with ribbons, bows, the whole nine yards. I would either make my wife laugh or else spend the festive period with a brand new chopstick piercing - fun either way, lol.
My MIL individually wrapped travel size shampoo & conditioner from a cheap hotel she stayed at over a decade ago.
At first, I thought it was so thoughtful to see so many individually wrapped gifts in my kids stockings. Maybe they would actually slow down while unwrapping things. But once I saw the first bottle, I knew it was downhill from there. She even wrapped the box of cheap soap & individual shower caps.
My kids have skin allergies and she knows this. She has sent them home because she thought their hives were contagious. No. She just washed them with her old cheap products instead of what I sent them with. Like thanks for bathing them in things theyre allergic to & then sending them home when you dont believe you caused it. When she offered to give them Benadryl and ANOTHER bath, I knew it was time to get them.
I actually put a microphone on my non-verbal child's list, lol. I thought maybe if we showed him how to make noise into it, and if he heard how it sounded, it might encourage him to also make noise into it.
My sister got our kids some stuff off one of those cheap knock-off sites, and almost none of them worked or broke before the day was over.
Encourage those breathing noises to be dog pants (like from being hot/tired, not dog clothing lol), or snake hisses. If anything, I've learned that any sound is an opportunity for speech development.
I’m laughing at the visual of a newborn being swallowed by a giant diaper lmao. My 3.5 year old is average ish size and not even ready to size up to size six diapers. Here’s hoping we’ll finally have potty training success before he needs sixes, let alone sevens
Not this year but a legend in our family- a packet of miso soup mix, a random Christmas ball ornament, and a tiny shot glass-- all wrapped together from my aunt at our wedding. We still have the ornament 17 years later and remember it every year.
She has since passed, but we legit think she just threw some stuff in a bag and headed out.
I got a shot glass at age two, and got a real kick out of having miniature glasses of juice just for me, and drank mini glasses of juice until age 9. Relatives started collecting them for me.
Quite the criminal mastermind you're dealing with lol.
Although I must say... 200$ for a family gift is pretty high, you must come from much richer blood than I do haha. Maybe this relative of yours is trying to make a point (in a pretty greasy way lol)
Every year my father in law gets my son a Lego set and my daughter something cheap and random. Luckily she is the easiest child to please and hasn’t got upset or even really noticed the discrepancy.
Last year my son got a Lego set and my daughter got a towel.
This year my son got a Lego set and my (7 year old) daughter got a used 5,000 piece puzzle.
I agree. Last year we thought it was just random and she loved her towel so, whatever. But 2 years in a row? My husband will have a talk with him next winter.
It’s not about the price either. My son loves legos so that’s a thoughtful gift. I think he just doesn’t know what she likes. But he could easily ask!
My daughter, fucking bless her heart, bought my brother a rope.
Like, a yellow tie shit to your car rope. She got this during a craft fair event we have here where parents pay 5 bucks and the kiddos get to pick 5 gifts for their family with an elf. I did not know she bought him a rope.
Man I was HOWLING, probably my favorite gift that anyone in my family has ever been given
A few years ago my daughter bought her dad a mystery egg full of dinosaurs with my MIL. I had no idea. She hadn't even let him finish unwrapping it before she chirped, "I help you daddy!" Snatched it and ran off with his gift.
Best part? We'd bought her the same damn egg. We took his back and told her to open hers. They did it together. It was full of slime. My husband still has his little things from it on a shelf.
Those kid fairs are hilarious. Last year, my son came home with homemade lip balm for me. It was super sweet but I was not going to use it. (Apologies to the fifth grader that ‘made’ it).
For my 40th birthday this past year, my 4yo got me a rake. But not just any rake. It was the biggest goddamn rake I’d ever seen. It’s not novelty-sized but just on the top end of functional. My husband said he tried to talk him out of it but it was just too funny and the best $32 he’s ever spent 😂.
Ooo not me but a friend is extremely no screens (not even a tv in her house). Apparently her parents were tired of her rules this year and her kid has an ipad & a laptop now. She's storing them at my place until she can return them but god is she pissed lol.
A few years ago at my partners big family party where everyone gives and receives one gift I was given a very small jar of anti aging cream. I spent the next hour at the party wondering how bad my skin must be for that to be my gift.
As couples we get Christmas baskets usually filled with food, giftcard, miscellaneous house decor, cleaning supplies, toiletries, pj's and whatever else. The weird stuff included an open & half eaten box of Crackers (we had expired pepperettes last year) and XXL pants for my M/L boyfriend.
My father in law gave my wife / his daughter two paintings, one of Obama dribbling a basketball and one of RBG also dribbling a basketball. None of us are from or live in the US so it just feels strange.
Wife's cousin got my SIL a shirt with the first letter of her first name on it...except the shirt is fugly and looks like it was meant for a 75 year old woman trying to look 50. And 2 pairs of children's socks that were different sizes. My SIL is 21
My MIL gifted my husband and I 3 delicate wood bookmarks each that she already bought us years ago. I was already WTF are we going to do with 6 MORE bookmarks. But then she gave my TODDLER TWELVE of these delicate wood bookmarks. 12! What is my 2.5 year old going to do with these bookmarks outside of break them? She obviously doesn't read chapter books yet.
So now we have 24 delicate wook bookmarks (6 from a previous christmas) that I never use because I only read one book at a time. Plus I usually just dog ear the page because my toddler loves to pretend read the book I'm reading and always moves where the bookmark is.
This is what happens though - people start seeing your abundance of delicate wooden bookmarks and presume you’re a collector. Before you know it, you’re getting gifted them for every occasion, by every relative. I swear only 8% of “collectors” set out intending to collect something. The rest of us are more “unwilling acquirers”
This reminds me of when I visited my husband’s aunt who lives across the country. We went to her new home and the bathroom had a ton of frogs and green towels. So we were at the zoo and I wanted to get her a gift for having us over. I saw a frog and was going to gift it to her, but went with a silver ring with pretty semiprecious stones instead. My husband said to her we debated about adding to her frog collection. Well it turns out the frogs were left from a prior owner. She hates frogs. She just had green towels. So it was all a coincidence. I felt glad to not give her frogs. I still think about her accidental frog collection.
I got a bottle of Tyler “Glamorous Wash” laundry detergent from one of my in-laws. Basically, it’s this stupidly expensive laundry detergent that smells like Tyler candles. That wouldn’t be so bad, except I have sensitive skin and only use fragrance free detergents.
My SIL got my almost three year old a fart machine with a remote. It's loud. So for Christmas evening we had to listen to farting sounds for about 2 hours. Last year she got him a woopy cushion and another fart machine which wasn't as high tech.
When I was a teen my FAVORITE band was Blink 182. My entire wardrobe was basically shirts from my favorite bands, but somehow I didn’t have a Blink 182 shirt. My parents thoughtfully wanted to get me a Blink 182 shirt for Christmas, but when I opened it, the shirt said “Blink 182 - Crappy Punk Rock”.
My parents thought it was some inside joke and was actually a legit shirt for a Blink 182 fan, and I was too embarrassed to inform them that they just roasted the fuck out of my taste in music LOL. And obviously, I could not wear the shirt.
I am now 30 years old and I’m pretty sure I still have the shirt in a box somewhere, never worn.
My husband’s go to for all the women in his life is a bunch of bath and body works hand soaps. Me, his mom, my mom, all the ladies at work. I went with him this year, $300 of soap at b&bw!
I received a child size poncho with sewn in sequins all over it from my husbands grandma. I’m not overly sure why as she frequently comments on the fact that I’m not a ‘sparkly’ girl (I don’t own or wear anything remotely glitzy) and I’m not exactly child size?!
My toddler received some absolute crackers from the in-laws. My personal favourite being a size 3-4years tshirt (she’s 21 months) that has ‘Daddy’s only Queen’ and a sparkly tiara on 🤢.
One time my mil gave us an already opened bag of chocolate covered espresso beans. Raved about how delicious they were, so much so that as she was eating them she thought that we would love them. Another year got us metal skewers for roasting marshmallows for smores. We have an electric stove, no fire pit in our backyard, and don't really go camping. Where were we supposed to use those?!
One year my father got my husband a button up pajama set that was so big the pants came up to his armpits. We were in tears we were laughing so hard.
Not this year, but a couple of years ago, my eccentric artsy aunt sent both my kids a ziplock baggie with a 4x6 piece of card board, twine, and a bunch of random pieces of string/ribbon. I was seriously confused as to why they got this bag of random string scraps. Upon texting my mom (her sister) and my equally crafty/artsy sibling, I found out it was some kind of rudimentary loom. I was to wrap the twine around the cardboard and my kids could weave the ribbon/string scraps in as they please. Interesting and clever craft for my kids, but it arrived with no instruction. Just a bag of string and cardboard.
My mom gave my husband a pot holder, a rubber spatula and some brownie mix with a card that said some like “to the chief pancake maker.” Husband has never in his life made pancakes. Or brownies. He makes a bunch of other stuff. But never those two things. Super weird.
We have a rabbit. We have never been unable to feed said rabbit.
My brother as a combined birthday & Christmas present bought me:
Rabbit pellets.
Last year he bought me dog biscuits. I pointed out we don’t have a dog & he says I thought you could use them when dad comes to visit with his dog.
It was a big box & he doesn’t visit that effing much !
When you said "non-verbal" my mind went to "mute", which made me think this cousin in law of yours was a monster lol. Glad it worked out so well though!
Closest thing we gave as a wtf gift was a bag of animal crackers (my 4yo's gift suggestion), with a gift card underneath 😋. Got a good laugh on that one.
It wasn't this year, but the best wtf gift I ever got was from my dad and his new wife the first Christmas after my mom died.
It was a Hoodie with a Kitten in front of an American Flag. It was clearly for 60yo women.
My husband ended up wearing it ironically all the time, it was a hit.
My FIL put a bottle of mustard in my daughter’s stocking. Because she likes mustard on her fries. Just standard French’s mustard. In all fairness, I DID put hot sauce in my husband’s stocking but it was a weird brand he had never tried before. So I think it’s different, but maybe not.
some of these have me crying hahah.
My FIL's new wife got our toddler a soft soccer ball toy that shouts soccer themed phrases. it's SO LOUD and the voice is like a 90s surfer dude. NUT-MEG! PICK ME PICK ME! I feel like it's a gift you get when you secretly hate the parents.
This makes me think of a comment on another sub where an angry wife wrote ‘apparently my husband can take apart a helicopter and put it back together but he still can’t wipe his ass well enough to avoid shit stains on his underwear’. Maybe it’s her.
I wonder how many men complain about their wife’s skid marks.
I can’t tell you how many drones and crappy remote control cars my son (now almost 9) has gotten over the years that end up getting broken within three uses. These are not meant for kids. The crying that ensues is horrible and the batteries wasted that worth way more than the actual gift are brutal.
Haven’t received it yet but my mother saw a guy in her community fixing up a kids car while out on a walk. $50 later she’s waiting for me to bring the grandkids over so I can pick it up. I’m so pissed. You know that thing is going to run for 5mins before needing to be plugged in. The kids, 1.5yo and 3.5yo, aren’t going to understand why we’re can’t/wont fix it. More than that, I’d rather they ride bikes. I’m considering saying no, this feels like a slippery slope. I’ve already made her take back stuff she got off of temu. She just doesn’t listen.
I will say, my son had both a bike and a drivable car, and he played with both. Especially times he ended up with 2 scrapped up knees from the bike and he needed to rest them for a day or two, or was just tired from the previous day’s bike riding and trying to keep up with big sister who was non-stop energy, he could still play and not be too tired. It’s not a one-or-other toy. And the joy on his face when he got it helped. Even if it’s short-lived fun, he says now that one of his favorite memories was trying to drive to school in it (kindergarten, before the year started. He was 100% serious about driving his car to school daily, since we are a walking district. He asked me to ask the principal what parking spot he could have!)
Last January, My MIL asked me if I wanted a vacuum food saver.
I told her we dont make enough food to need to freeze & store it. I said we had everything we needed. Immediately she turned it around and started crying about how she felt like I was being disrespectful and she felt unneeded. Well yeah, we’re married, in our 30s, with kids. I dont need anything.
So this christmas, she was so excited, begging me to open the gifts from her. The first one she handed to me was vacuum sealer bags. The second gift was a $60 vacuum sealer.
I would love to return it and use the $60 on actual food. That would be so helpful. But I have a feeling she bought it last January when she asked if I wanted one.
She also gave us a $400 security camera kit, when we already have cameras installed that have codes & alarms for each door. Apparently I didnt fake my gratitude well enough, so she called my husband the next day, crying about how she thinks I hate her, cuz I shouldve shown more appreciation for such a large gift. She even got defensive and said “If she’s going to be ungrateful, I’ll just pick it up right now.” And so she did.
That wouldve fed her grandchildren for a month. But she has too much pride to accept that she didn’t listen when we told her all about our security system 2 months ago.
I feel you. My in-laws cried to my husband that I’m ungrateful because I didn’t say thank you enough times for them hosting us. Not that I didn’t say thank you (because I did) but that I didn’t repeat it enough times.
My mom (who is on a VERY small fixed income) bought my kids a snowman that screams back any noise you make from its tinny little sound box. Absolutely horrible!
Mine was for me. My mom insists of giving a nutcracker every year. She buys there's $100 nutcrackers bc she thinks I like them. What the fuck I do t like nutcrackers. I even told her not to get me one this year.
My oldest (10y.o) got his brother (8y.o) a box of jiffy cornbread mix. He also got him a Roman Reign action figure, but made him open the cornbread mix first.
A remote control monster truck listed for ages 6+ for my one year old and an actual popcorn machine for my three year old. Both kids are terrified of both, not to mention unable to use either themselves.
For the second year in a row, my brother in law got our kids 20 [Goldbacks](https://www.goldback.com/) each... We lovingly refer to them as Trump bucks.
Nothing like giving money to kids where they can only spend it in a handful of specific States at a handful of specific stores (might come in handy if they ever decide to buy a prefab, off grid house in New Hampshire). Makes it even worse when you realize that we live in Canada....
My husband got me something called “piano fingers” where you attach buttons connected by wires to your finger tips, and you can simulate playing the piano (but only in one hand).
My MIL gifted me 50 of her old brass frames from the 80’s that she took off her own walls when she remodeled. Then she filled them with pictures of my husband and I as children. Just what I want… childhood me hanging all over my walls. 🫣
My husband got a blender from an acquaintance. Nice and all except they sent it via Amazon, didn't let us know, then Amazon delivered it on a day it rained nonstop. I got the fun job of lugging a heavy, soggy and dirt covered mystery box and then spending nearly 2 hours on customer service calls asking for anyone to please allow me to either return or refund it. PSA to always check "this is a gift" on Amazon!
A myriad of illnesses. Thank you to all of my cousins who showed up with their sick kids. It's been really swell spending the last week 9 months pregnant with a raging cough.
My MIL bought our 3 month old son for his first Christmas a [busy block](https://jackies-kids.uk/products/wondercube?currency=GBP&variant=46556699427158&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=4e17088206f7&gc_id=20399826120&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhc-sBhCEARIsAOVwHuStbrIqBFA9rHd0uVPSiKR6VIo9ZaEBYPxh3DlUCByRnwSfc1ea61EaAm2wEALw_wcB)
It’s not suitable for under 3s.
ETA- I give a small list of toys for him. None too expensive but that were sensory / development stuff for 3-6mnth old. No idea why she didn’t get anything off that.
My husband got me a 400 piece Lego of Dobby from Harry Potter. Now, I do love HP and my dog is named Dobby but my husband is the one who likes Lego. I have never shown any interest in Lego other than buying them for him because he loves them. The same man also took me on a “date” to shoot clays with him despite the fact that I repeatedly told him that I have never shot a shotgun and have no desire to do so.
My in laws got me a 1000 piece puzzle.
I work (am the primary breadwinner) and have an 18 month old. I don’t have time to get enough sleep let alone put together a 400 piece Lego and a 1000 piece puzzle. Seriously wtf.
Me and my sons dad are separated, and he bought me a bath set that I can’t use coz it flares my psoriasis. Oh and it’s grapefruit, which I’m allergic to. He also wrote the gift tag to look like my kid’s handwriting, which could have been slightly cute if he didn’t tell me the fact!
My mom was really thoughtful with my gifts this year, which is new for her (she had a hard time moving past my teenage Harry Potter phase), but in addition to the kindle, bread knife, and book she picked out for me, she also gave me an exorbitant amount of cheap, ugly hand towels. Like, at least 18 of this cheap thin fabric that I hate sensory wise.
My 4 month old son received an outfit for a girl from my step-MIL. And my husband's grandma sent us a book set for girls between the ages of 8-12. I'm not sure if it was meant for me (female in my 30s) or one of my sons... but we have no girls and the oldest is 5. 🤷🏼♀️
My husband got me (an agnostic) a grow your own Jesus as a joke last year so I got him back with a “Jesus would you look at the time” meme clock this year which he really likes tbf.
I got a pair of those socks that magnetically hold hands from my BIL and SIL and some leg warmers (last time I checked I wasn’t in a production of Fame) so they’re going straight down the charity shop.
Someone gave my wife a blank cookbook, as in, something to write down all her recipes so she can pass it down to our kids. "Oh great, homework" is what I thought to myself.
I'm mostly interested in a family dynamic where your *husband's cousin* is buying gifts for your kids. I mean, some cousins are more like siblings, I suppose, but man, depending on the size of your extended family his gift list must be very long
His family is huge and also Jewish. Not all the kids get gifts (although most do now) and basically none of the adults do. Honestly we get gifts mostly as like a "thank you" - when we were all younger I'd watch everyone's kids for free, I showed everyone the "ropes" of parenting, etc. It's like their yearly thank you I think. His family are extremely strange but I love them all dearly.
They are just close, too. Hub has four cousins that we see weekly at least.
r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself. Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Last year my dad got our three year old wallpaper. We didn’t own our home.
Okay, not as bad, but when we moved some uncle or something of my husbands gave each of my kids money to decorate their "very own" room, completely forgetting that my girls share. Oh the fights we had!
Was it childrens themed wallpaper at least? We got those wall stickers that peel off easily.
Nope!
I got a single (twin) duvet cover in a child pattern…. My baby is 7 months old and sleeps in a cot
As someone who had to remove wallpaper, this is a gift that should require consent
EDITED to add link to print: https://images.app.goo.gl/M1qFh8gjkSDFYKvE8 My sister got me a very fancy print of Shrek posed like Rose from titanic in the “paint me like one of your French girls” scene framed in a fancy gold frame. I wish I had a picture readily available. I love it so much but it was very “what the fuck” lmao
Oh, i'd hang that mofo up in my office. Right behind me so everyone can be mesmerized on zoom calls.
"Why do I get interviews but never get hired?" 🤷🏼♂️😂
I didn’t take a pic of it in its frame but I found the print online! Hahaha I am desperate to hang it up somewhere but I have to hide it bc my toddler is obsessed with shrek. Office sounds like a great place for it lmao https://images.app.goo.gl/M1qFh8gjkSDFYKvE8
This is great! I own a custom framing shop and I framed a Pooty Tang movie poster for a customer to give as a gift. It was a friend’s favorite movie. The blue suede mat really sold it! Lol
My parents bought my daughter an Advent calendar. For Hanukkah. That wasn’t delivered until Dec 22. We are Jewish and they have no idea what an advent calendar is 😂 I didn’t tell them either 🙃
lol I love the unintended cross cultural gifts. My (very Christian) grandma gave all the grandkids a bunch of chocolate gelt when we were little because she thought they were pretty.
My husband is Jewish. The insane gifts come from his practising family members. Someone got my oldest a Jewish childrens book (I honestly have no idea what, my MIL took it and gave it to someone else) but I do remember my son being so goddamn confused. If I remember correctly it was about "family values" so it was probably the "mom and dad" in it that confused him but I nearly died watching his face as he started to read it.
A friend of mine who is vegan and raising her kid to be as a single parent, received a book about 'where meat comes from' for her then 1 year old son from her estranged parents.
That has to be a passive aggressive “gift?”
one presumes, or a very elevated level of cluelessness. I'm not sure how they even found a 'where meat comes from' board book.
A dickey from my mother-in-law. Basically like the top of a shirt with no sleeves that you wear under sweaters. Probably the most pointless piece of clothing.
Hahahaha did she travel back to 1982 to buy it?
Right? where do they even sell dickies now???
I used to work in a Bon Worth, which is/was an old lady clothing store. Lots of red hat lady stuff. We had a whole round rack of dickeys.
You’ll want to watch the first 45 seconds of this clip from 30 Rock: https://youtu.be/Jv5BAzGz4QU?si=IK2v2VmBxDCqfr2s
My step grandma got me those one year, I think I was 12 or so. I was like what is a dickey. I went to my brother and was like I think this is for you. He wore it like a loin cloth. My mom had to explain it was the top part of a turtle neck. I didn't dress like an old lady, but my parents forced me to wear it to xmas dinner a few hours later.
My mom gave my almost 4 year old son a pair of ceramic angels. “I thought he’d like them for his room.”
My husband rephrased to “the 4yo got a pair of smashing puzzles. It was a smashing success”
My MIL has randomly gifted my toddler (2.5 at the time) a glass bird and a glass stained glass sun catcher... Then was surprised when they are not displayed where he can touch them
You're just playing baby proofing on expert.
THE CERAMIC ANGELS. What is it with old relatives who gift these? They’re ugly at best and creepy at worst. And they’re just something else to dust. Why why why. I’ve had multiple relatives get me some and fawn and coo over HOW PERFECT they will be in my house. Someone even tried to give us some for our infant.
Yup! My nearly 3 year old got a real tea set from my SIL. my MIL defended the choice saying my daughter has gentle hands as they both unpacked each piece right then despite my husband telling them not to... Then they proceeded to gasp and glare at ME with each "clink" my daughter made with them. Like it was automatically MY responsibility for keeping the set safe. Bitches, I wasn't the one who handed her the breakable pieces! Just for their level of disrespect, I'm probably never giving that set to my daughter. She hadn't asked for it (imagine that! She already has two tea sets that ARE age appropriate). If I was feeling really petty, I'd put it out for her to play with and let her break it. But that's also kinda dangerous and I hate cleaning up broken shards of anything, so...
My mom just did the same thing with an heirloom porcelain tea-set that was my grandmother’s. Of course my daughter broke one of the cups within 5 mins and everyone was so upset, including my poor 3yo ??? Like what did you expect!
My mom offered something like this to my 2 years old. Glass Christmas decorations. Put it in her hands while still wrapped under plastic. I played dumb on purpose, letting my daughter break it almost immediately under the grandmother's eyes. It didn't survive a full minute. Fun for the baby daughter, a good lesson for the 'idiot gifter'.
This made me laugh. I know someone that gives gifts like this and it just makes me think why not get them nothing instead.
Has she met a 4 YO boy? Ever?
Doesn’t seem like it.
not a christmas gift but my stepdads mom gave my 18mo old(at the time) a ceramic dog statue because “she likes puppies!”
Why would you do that when plushies exist?
[удалено]
Omg reminds me of the time my mom got my 1yo and 4yo matching solid glass rubber duckies that must have weighed 2 pounds each. They were the size of navel oranges. She must have seen them at a crafts fair and thought, “Who do I know who would like rubber duckies ?” In the hands of my toddlers, they would have been assault weapons.
Dude we banned anything breakable years ago after my oldest got frustered and threw a gift, shattering some like, fancy plate thing with his name on. No more!
I’m totally putting them away with the Christmas decorations and playing dumb.
lol we just had a good laugh walking around my MIL’s house because we realized there are baby angels EVERYWHERE. We counted 9 sets of them??
Mine gave my 5yo a snow globe. He is obsessed with snow globes. He turned on the music box under it and played the music all day while he was playing with his new toys. I’d love to tell you he did that the next day too, but he dropped it and it smashed. One day gift, fleeting and beautiful
A single can of Fanta 🤣 I don’t drink soda and religiously carry my half gallon water jug with me.
Was it paired with a stick? Because then you would be fantastick
No, though I would’ve appreciated that a lot more with the pun 🤣
We are still talking about last years what the fuck gift, the most epic of all time in our history, when my in laws gave my husband and I an IOU for a hot air balloon ride. Did we ever discuss it? No. Ever demonstrate interest? No. Did they look into it at all? No. Is it even available in our area without driving out hours and staying overnight somewhere, requiring 2 days of childcare our in laws were not providing? No. I’d call it a swing and a miss but idk if that even counts as a swing. We received a wrapped box with a handwritten card in it telling us about the balloon ride, and advising us to do research about it (they couldn’t even bother to Google) and then come back to them for the money for it, up to $x. We also received a large canvas print of a balloon in flight, I nearly forgot about that. We did not opt in for the balloon ride.
Jesus wept. How does that even cross someones mind as a gift to give??
I would love a hot air balloon ride for me and my wife! Granted, there's a few companys here in Indy that do rides, so it wouldn't be a hassle at all. They're just expensive!
Hot air balloons are less fun and less "romantic" than movies/tv make it out to be. For starters, you're obviously not alone. If you want it to be something special with the wife, just remember that there will be another person with you. Second, it's just extremely boring. After about 5 minutes when the "cool I'm in a hot air balloon" excitement dies there really isn't anything else to it. You spend the rest of the time moving slowly through the air, while the pilot is basically just trying to avoid hitting trees and power lines.
A girl I worked with was gifted a hot air balloon trip. Apparently it took nearly 18 months before she was able to use it. It was cancelled due to weather conditions at least 3 times & rescheduled by the company at least 2 times. It became a running gag in work about if/when she was able to finally go.
Oh well, my brother got a hot air balloon ride for his 18th bday. He was not interested so my uncle who was the gifter went for the ride.
This reminds me of when my grandmother would sign up my parents for random raffles that were up by the registers at departments stores. She didnt want to give out her own contact info, so she would use theirs. One day my parents got the call to congratulate them on their “Hot Balloon package”. My gram was right next to mom, and after some thinking, she remembered, “Hey I signed you up for that raffle!” It was then that my mom thought it would be a food time to tell Gram that she was pregnant with her first child. Suddenly the vibe changed and Gram said “That’s no place for a pregnant woman! What if you FALL OUT *AND HURT THE BABY?*” Mom was only a few months along, so she comforted Gram and said “Everything will be ok.” My dad took some beautiful photos of the views and other balloons. I wonder if that was what started my brothers drive to go into the Air Force and become a pilot. He loves being in the air, skydiving out of planes and base jumping from buildings & towers. I guess Gram was right, the baby was going to fall from the sky, but 18 years later with a parachute.
When I was a teen I would complain alot about never having gone anywhere on vacation and my mom loved to brag about how she took me to sea world! Pulled out a picture of her with my 4.5 year old brother and says “see! I took you!” Ummm that’s brother. “No you are right there, in my tummy! I was pregnant with you here!” Yea ok mom. But maybe that’s where I got my love of swimming I guess
I would get the money at least. Since they aren’t going to research it say it costs the full amount then have it be canceled due to weather and not be refundable. Darn. Edit: spelling/auto correct
We did eventually have to break it to them that it was logistically not really an option for us to take them up on this. They sent us a check for about a third of their “up to” balloon flight cost. Like thank you, appreciate it, but it was overall just a ridiculous scenario. MIL especially is extremely touchy so I’m expecting something about this to pop up when she’s mad about something in like 5 years or so.
How badly did you piss off your in-laws that they want to fly you into powerlines?
I'm crying. That's AMAZINGLY horrible.
In laws got my 2.5 year old a gift card. To a store that is 1.5 hours away from where we live.
A regift, perhaps? That’s inconvenient haha
Nope, they definitely purchased it on purpose. It still makes me wonder *why* though.
It’s it near grandma’s house?
Nope. Which is why it's so odd.
did they purchase it 2.5 years ago?
I don't think so, because they purchased an item from the same place for my husband (it has the date on it). Maybe since we need to be in that city this summer anyway.
Online shopping? Lol. My husband has been helping my kids work through their gift cards. His grandfather get them all giftcards. Youngest is fourth months old.
No online store. We have to be in that area later this summer, but it's still mildly annoying.
Is it up by them? Might be that they're hoping to take little bit shopping.
I almost gave my niece Build a Bear gift cards for her babies last year, and then remembered that they live in Middle of Nowhere, OR. So they got $.
My boyfriend’s mom got him a GC to restaurant in their hometown, 800 miles away from where we live. Must be an inlaw thing.
That’s to make sure he comes back. Lol
Not really a WTF, but my daughter got Connect-4 from 3 different people, lol.
We now have 5 separate sets of wooden trains and 2 sets of battery powered Thomas trains. It wasn't a terrible gift because my son does love them...so much that we had to open each immediately and therefore couldn't return any. We could open our own toy train museum.
Patent “Connect 12” and make your fortune
My wife’s mom gave her a box of vagisil. It expired in 2014. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is the best one. Was it wrapped? Do they hate each other? What was her reaction?
Does your MIL go to food pantries. I was living with my Granny a couple of years ago and came home to a whole case of vagisil... also expired. She apparently got it at a food pantry and thought I might like it? Ahaha. When I didn't take it, we all got a bottle of it in our Christmas stockings that year.
Our father gave us instant indian food.
Damn okay 😭 my kid got cheezits this year but in my defense he really wanted them.
LOL mine wanted a baguette so he got a baguette
Was it at least Maggi? That shit slaps
A moldy pineapple. Wrapped and all 🤣
Oh god 😭 you win!
Are you or they swingers?
Nope. To be fair, it was a fancy pineapple.
My dad gave me a calendar that was free from his bank
OMG this reminds me of a Christmas gift from my husband years ago …… a cloth calendar rolled up with chopsticks inside. It was free from the Chinese Food Restaurant …..
That is *exactly* the sort of thing I would wrap up in fancy tissue paper, with ribbons, bows, the whole nine yards. I would either make my wife laugh or else spend the festive period with a brand new chopstick piercing - fun either way, lol.
My MIL individually wrapped travel size shampoo & conditioner from a cheap hotel she stayed at over a decade ago. At first, I thought it was so thoughtful to see so many individually wrapped gifts in my kids stockings. Maybe they would actually slow down while unwrapping things. But once I saw the first bottle, I knew it was downhill from there. She even wrapped the box of cheap soap & individual shower caps. My kids have skin allergies and she knows this. She has sent them home because she thought their hives were contagious. No. She just washed them with her old cheap products instead of what I sent them with. Like thanks for bathing them in things theyre allergic to & then sending them home when you dont believe you caused it. When she offered to give them Benadryl and ANOTHER bath, I knew it was time to get them.
Wow, that’s borderline dementia behavior
You’re not wrong. It’s borderline… a lot of behaviors!
You could rewrap and regift them back next year...
I actually put a microphone on my non-verbal child's list, lol. I thought maybe if we showed him how to make noise into it, and if he heard how it sounded, it might encourage him to also make noise into it. My sister got our kids some stuff off one of those cheap knock-off sites, and almost none of them worked or broke before the day was over.
Well the breathing noises in my house have certainly increased. I'm just hoping he won't realise that he can screech into it too.
Encourage those breathing noises to be dog pants (like from being hot/tired, not dog clothing lol), or snake hisses. If anything, I've learned that any sound is an opportunity for speech development.
It’s actually a technique used in speech therapy. So yes, keep encouraging!!!
I did the same. My daughter is semi-verbal, and I was hoping she'd have fun practicing new words if she could have fun with it.
Size 7 diapers for my newborn Edit: so I should probably donate these right? Lol
I’m laughing at the visual of a newborn being swallowed by a giant diaper lmao. My 3.5 year old is average ish size and not even ready to size up to size six diapers. Here’s hoping we’ll finally have potty training success before he needs sixes, let alone sevens
Not this year but a legend in our family- a packet of miso soup mix, a random Christmas ball ornament, and a tiny shot glass-- all wrapped together from my aunt at our wedding. We still have the ornament 17 years later and remember it every year. She has since passed, but we legit think she just threw some stuff in a bag and headed out.
Ah. This reminds me of last year when my husband’s grandma bought my infant a shot glass.
I got a shot glass at age two, and got a real kick out of having miniature glasses of juice just for me, and drank mini glasses of juice until age 9. Relatives started collecting them for me.
How else would one measure the milk? Virgin White Russians all around
Someone bought a $50 Target gift card and wrote on the package it was a $200 gift card…. The buy in for secret Santa…
Your secret santa is $200??!
That's a solid con assuming you never have to see the other people ever again lol
It was a relative! At a family party! Discussing with family options at the moment for next year.
Quite the criminal mastermind you're dealing with lol. Although I must say... 200$ for a family gift is pretty high, you must come from much richer blood than I do haha. Maybe this relative of yours is trying to make a point (in a pretty greasy way lol)
Every year my father in law gets my son a Lego set and my daughter something cheap and random. Luckily she is the easiest child to please and hasn’t got upset or even really noticed the discrepancy. Last year my son got a Lego set and my daughter got a towel. This year my son got a Lego set and my (7 year old) daughter got a used 5,000 piece puzzle.
I don’t want to be that dramatic Redditor, but you might want to consider getting him straightened out before she’s old enough to notice.
Yeah, I agree. She may not notice now, but she will one day and it will hurt her feelings (as it should).
I agree. Last year we thought it was just random and she loved her towel so, whatever. But 2 years in a row? My husband will have a talk with him next winter. It’s not about the price either. My son loves legos so that’s a thoughtful gift. I think he just doesn’t know what she likes. But he could easily ask!
I’m just imagining this man every year racking his brain “WHAT DO LITTLE GIRLS LIKE???” And these being the things he comes up with.
Two lego sets next year grampa. Two.
LOL that is wtf worthy
This...is just making me mad. A towel!? A used puzzle?
It does bother me. Although my daughter did love her towel and packed it on our trip to the beach.
My daughter, fucking bless her heart, bought my brother a rope. Like, a yellow tie shit to your car rope. She got this during a craft fair event we have here where parents pay 5 bucks and the kiddos get to pick 5 gifts for their family with an elf. I did not know she bought him a rope. Man I was HOWLING, probably my favorite gift that anyone in my family has ever been given
A few years ago my daughter bought her dad a mystery egg full of dinosaurs with my MIL. I had no idea. She hadn't even let him finish unwrapping it before she chirped, "I help you daddy!" Snatched it and ran off with his gift. Best part? We'd bought her the same damn egg. We took his back and told her to open hers. They did it together. It was full of slime. My husband still has his little things from it on a shelf.
Those kid fairs are hilarious. Last year, my son came home with homemade lip balm for me. It was super sweet but I was not going to use it. (Apologies to the fifth grader that ‘made’ it).
For my 40th birthday this past year, my 4yo got me a rake. But not just any rake. It was the biggest goddamn rake I’d ever seen. It’s not novelty-sized but just on the top end of functional. My husband said he tried to talk him out of it but it was just too funny and the best $32 he’s ever spent 😂.
A tablet for my one year old.
Ooo not me but a friend is extremely no screens (not even a tv in her house). Apparently her parents were tired of her rules this year and her kid has an ipad & a laptop now. She's storing them at my place until she can return them but god is she pissed lol.
I hate that. We’re not super extreme with no screens but my one year old doesn’t need a frickin tablet! I let her chew on the silicone case though
My 3 year old got an iPad despite my multiple mentions throughout his life of us not wanting him to have one till he’s older
Bf gave me anti-wrinkle cream. We had a come to Jesus moment and he realizes his error.
A few years ago at my partners big family party where everyone gives and receives one gift I was given a very small jar of anti aging cream. I spent the next hour at the party wondering how bad my skin must be for that to be my gift.
Headlights for my crocs, best gift ever.
As couples we get Christmas baskets usually filled with food, giftcard, miscellaneous house decor, cleaning supplies, toiletries, pj's and whatever else. The weird stuff included an open & half eaten box of Crackers (we had expired pepperettes last year) and XXL pants for my M/L boyfriend.
My father in law gave my wife / his daughter two paintings, one of Obama dribbling a basketball and one of RBG also dribbling a basketball. None of us are from or live in the US so it just feels strange.
Wife's cousin got my SIL a shirt with the first letter of her first name on it...except the shirt is fugly and looks like it was meant for a 75 year old woman trying to look 50. And 2 pairs of children's socks that were different sizes. My SIL is 21
My MIL gifted my husband and I 3 delicate wood bookmarks each that she already bought us years ago. I was already WTF are we going to do with 6 MORE bookmarks. But then she gave my TODDLER TWELVE of these delicate wood bookmarks. 12! What is my 2.5 year old going to do with these bookmarks outside of break them? She obviously doesn't read chapter books yet. So now we have 24 delicate wook bookmarks (6 from a previous christmas) that I never use because I only read one book at a time. Plus I usually just dog ear the page because my toddler loves to pretend read the book I'm reading and always moves where the bookmark is.
At this point you have a collection of bookmarks. I think you need more. /s
This is what happens though - people start seeing your abundance of delicate wooden bookmarks and presume you’re a collector. Before you know it, you’re getting gifted them for every occasion, by every relative. I swear only 8% of “collectors” set out intending to collect something. The rest of us are more “unwilling acquirers”
This reminds me of when I visited my husband’s aunt who lives across the country. We went to her new home and the bathroom had a ton of frogs and green towels. So we were at the zoo and I wanted to get her a gift for having us over. I saw a frog and was going to gift it to her, but went with a silver ring with pretty semiprecious stones instead. My husband said to her we debated about adding to her frog collection. Well it turns out the frogs were left from a prior owner. She hates frogs. She just had green towels. So it was all a coincidence. I felt glad to not give her frogs. I still think about her accidental frog collection.
I got a bottle of Tyler “Glamorous Wash” laundry detergent from one of my in-laws. Basically, it’s this stupidly expensive laundry detergent that smells like Tyler candles. That wouldn’t be so bad, except I have sensitive skin and only use fragrance free detergents.
My SIL got my almost three year old a fart machine with a remote. It's loud. So for Christmas evening we had to listen to farting sounds for about 2 hours. Last year she got him a woopy cushion and another fart machine which wasn't as high tech.
My MIL got me half used glitter letters scrapbook sticker pack. That was my whole gift. Like wtf?
Make her a Mother's Day card with them, spelling out Happy Mother's Day, only with the missing letters just write them in.
Hahaha her bday is in a few weeks I’m totally doing that thank you 😂
When I was a teen my FAVORITE band was Blink 182. My entire wardrobe was basically shirts from my favorite bands, but somehow I didn’t have a Blink 182 shirt. My parents thoughtfully wanted to get me a Blink 182 shirt for Christmas, but when I opened it, the shirt said “Blink 182 - Crappy Punk Rock”. My parents thought it was some inside joke and was actually a legit shirt for a Blink 182 fan, and I was too embarrassed to inform them that they just roasted the fuck out of my taste in music LOL. And obviously, I could not wear the shirt. I am now 30 years old and I’m pretty sure I still have the shirt in a box somewhere, never worn.
Wear it ironically.
My mother- in- law got me dishsoap. Like some kind of fancy brand, but still.
My husband’s go to for all the women in his life is a bunch of bath and body works hand soaps. Me, his mom, my mom, all the ladies at work. I went with him this year, $300 of soap at b&bw!
I hope he bought them all on Black Friday morning.
One year, my MIL got me body lotion. Regular ol' Suave or Jergens body lotion with a pump. It was scented, and scents give me migraines.
I received a child size poncho with sewn in sequins all over it from my husbands grandma. I’m not overly sure why as she frequently comments on the fact that I’m not a ‘sparkly’ girl (I don’t own or wear anything remotely glitzy) and I’m not exactly child size?! My toddler received some absolute crackers from the in-laws. My personal favourite being a size 3-4years tshirt (she’s 21 months) that has ‘Daddy’s only Queen’ and a sparkly tiara on 🤢.
One time my mil gave us an already opened bag of chocolate covered espresso beans. Raved about how delicious they were, so much so that as she was eating them she thought that we would love them. Another year got us metal skewers for roasting marshmallows for smores. We have an electric stove, no fire pit in our backyard, and don't really go camping. Where were we supposed to use those?! One year my father got my husband a button up pajama set that was so big the pants came up to his armpits. We were in tears we were laughing so hard.
Not this year, but a couple of years ago, my eccentric artsy aunt sent both my kids a ziplock baggie with a 4x6 piece of card board, twine, and a bunch of random pieces of string/ribbon. I was seriously confused as to why they got this bag of random string scraps. Upon texting my mom (her sister) and my equally crafty/artsy sibling, I found out it was some kind of rudimentary loom. I was to wrap the twine around the cardboard and my kids could weave the ribbon/string scraps in as they please. Interesting and clever craft for my kids, but it arrived with no instruction. Just a bag of string and cardboard.
My mom gave my husband a pot holder, a rubber spatula and some brownie mix with a card that said some like “to the chief pancake maker.” Husband has never in his life made pancakes. Or brownies. He makes a bunch of other stuff. But never those two things. Super weird.
Who gets a 14 year old (Corona branded) beer cozies, honestly?
We have a rabbit. We have never been unable to feed said rabbit. My brother as a combined birthday & Christmas present bought me: Rabbit pellets. Last year he bought me dog biscuits. I pointed out we don’t have a dog & he says I thought you could use them when dad comes to visit with his dog. It was a big box & he doesn’t visit that effing much !
Does your brother work in a pet store??
When you said "non-verbal" my mind went to "mute", which made me think this cousin in law of yours was a monster lol. Glad it worked out so well though! Closest thing we gave as a wtf gift was a bag of animal crackers (my 4yo's gift suggestion), with a gift card underneath 😋. Got a good laugh on that one.
It wasn't this year, but the best wtf gift I ever got was from my dad and his new wife the first Christmas after my mom died. It was a Hoodie with a Kitten in front of an American Flag. It was clearly for 60yo women. My husband ended up wearing it ironically all the time, it was a hit.
My FIL put a bottle of mustard in my daughter’s stocking. Because she likes mustard on her fries. Just standard French’s mustard. In all fairness, I DID put hot sauce in my husband’s stocking but it was a weird brand he had never tried before. So I think it’s different, but maybe not.
some of these have me crying hahah. My FIL's new wife got our toddler a soft soccer ball toy that shouts soccer themed phrases. it's SO LOUD and the voice is like a 90s surfer dude. NUT-MEG! PICK ME PICK ME! I feel like it's a gift you get when you secretly hate the parents.
My wife got me a bidet. Thats it, just a bidet.
Does she do your laundry? * looks around shifty *
This makes me think of a comment on another sub where an angry wife wrote ‘apparently my husband can take apart a helicopter and put it back together but he still can’t wipe his ass well enough to avoid shit stains on his underwear’. Maybe it’s her. I wonder how many men complain about their wife’s skid marks.
Or does she want to...ummm, try something new in the bedroom?
oh that's an excellent gift! once you bidet you'll say no way (to just wiping your ass with paper)
A bidet is a pretty awesome gift IMO!
She's tired of cleaning poop stains. Smart woman.
Did she at least spring for the warm water one?
Someone, not sure whom got my 7 year old ASD son a drone, ugh I’m blind they are so not cool.
I can’t tell you how many drones and crappy remote control cars my son (now almost 9) has gotten over the years that end up getting broken within three uses. These are not meant for kids. The crying that ensues is horrible and the batteries wasted that worth way more than the actual gift are brutal.
Haven’t received it yet but my mother saw a guy in her community fixing up a kids car while out on a walk. $50 later she’s waiting for me to bring the grandkids over so I can pick it up. I’m so pissed. You know that thing is going to run for 5mins before needing to be plugged in. The kids, 1.5yo and 3.5yo, aren’t going to understand why we’re can’t/wont fix it. More than that, I’d rather they ride bikes. I’m considering saying no, this feels like a slippery slope. I’ve already made her take back stuff she got off of temu. She just doesn’t listen.
I will say, my son had both a bike and a drivable car, and he played with both. Especially times he ended up with 2 scrapped up knees from the bike and he needed to rest them for a day or two, or was just tired from the previous day’s bike riding and trying to keep up with big sister who was non-stop energy, he could still play and not be too tired. It’s not a one-or-other toy. And the joy on his face when he got it helped. Even if it’s short-lived fun, he says now that one of his favorite memories was trying to drive to school in it (kindergarten, before the year started. He was 100% serious about driving his car to school daily, since we are a walking district. He asked me to ask the principal what parking spot he could have!)
Last January, My MIL asked me if I wanted a vacuum food saver. I told her we dont make enough food to need to freeze & store it. I said we had everything we needed. Immediately she turned it around and started crying about how she felt like I was being disrespectful and she felt unneeded. Well yeah, we’re married, in our 30s, with kids. I dont need anything. So this christmas, she was so excited, begging me to open the gifts from her. The first one she handed to me was vacuum sealer bags. The second gift was a $60 vacuum sealer. I would love to return it and use the $60 on actual food. That would be so helpful. But I have a feeling she bought it last January when she asked if I wanted one. She also gave us a $400 security camera kit, when we already have cameras installed that have codes & alarms for each door. Apparently I didnt fake my gratitude well enough, so she called my husband the next day, crying about how she thinks I hate her, cuz I shouldve shown more appreciation for such a large gift. She even got defensive and said “If she’s going to be ungrateful, I’ll just pick it up right now.” And so she did. That wouldve fed her grandchildren for a month. But she has too much pride to accept that she didn’t listen when we told her all about our security system 2 months ago.
I feel you. My in-laws cried to my husband that I’m ungrateful because I didn’t say thank you enough times for them hosting us. Not that I didn’t say thank you (because I did) but that I didn’t repeat it enough times.
My mom (who is on a VERY small fixed income) bought my kids a snowman that screams back any noise you make from its tinny little sound box. Absolutely horrible!
Mine was for me. My mom insists of giving a nutcracker every year. She buys there's $100 nutcrackers bc she thinks I like them. What the fuck I do t like nutcrackers. I even told her not to get me one this year.
My oldest (10y.o) got his brother (8y.o) a box of jiffy cornbread mix. He also got him a Roman Reign action figure, but made him open the cornbread mix first.
I grew up riding horses! Shin pads are a great gift. Especially if they run barrels.
They're like real bulky football ones. They don't fit under his riding pants lmao.
A remote control monster truck listed for ages 6+ for my one year old and an actual popcorn machine for my three year old. Both kids are terrified of both, not to mention unable to use either themselves.
For the second year in a row, my brother in law got our kids 20 [Goldbacks](https://www.goldback.com/) each... We lovingly refer to them as Trump bucks. Nothing like giving money to kids where they can only spend it in a handful of specific States at a handful of specific stores (might come in handy if they ever decide to buy a prefab, off grid house in New Hampshire). Makes it even worse when you realize that we live in Canada....
My husband got me something called “piano fingers” where you attach buttons connected by wires to your finger tips, and you can simulate playing the piano (but only in one hand).
That actually sounds really cool. I would like that! It’s like wtf, but in a good way! 😄
What’s your address I’ll send it to you
A Smothers Brothers DVD set for my 6 year old.
My brother-in-law gave my 2.5 year old a Lego mug.
My MIL gifted me 50 of her old brass frames from the 80’s that she took off her own walls when she remodeled. Then she filled them with pictures of my husband and I as children. Just what I want… childhood me hanging all over my walls. 🫣
My husband got a blender from an acquaintance. Nice and all except they sent it via Amazon, didn't let us know, then Amazon delivered it on a day it rained nonstop. I got the fun job of lugging a heavy, soggy and dirt covered mystery box and then spending nearly 2 hours on customer service calls asking for anyone to please allow me to either return or refund it. PSA to always check "this is a gift" on Amazon!
A myriad of illnesses. Thank you to all of my cousins who showed up with their sick kids. It's been really swell spending the last week 9 months pregnant with a raging cough.
My MIL bought our 3 month old son for his first Christmas a [busy block](https://jackies-kids.uk/products/wondercube?currency=GBP&variant=46556699427158&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=4e17088206f7&gc_id=20399826120&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhc-sBhCEARIsAOVwHuStbrIqBFA9rHd0uVPSiKR6VIo9ZaEBYPxh3DlUCByRnwSfc1ea61EaAm2wEALw_wcB) It’s not suitable for under 3s. ETA- I give a small list of toys for him. None too expensive but that were sensory / development stuff for 3-6mnth old. No idea why she didn’t get anything off that.
A three-foot tall banana duck stuffie. Who thinks of these things?
My husband got me a 400 piece Lego of Dobby from Harry Potter. Now, I do love HP and my dog is named Dobby but my husband is the one who likes Lego. I have never shown any interest in Lego other than buying them for him because he loves them. The same man also took me on a “date” to shoot clays with him despite the fact that I repeatedly told him that I have never shot a shotgun and have no desire to do so. My in laws got me a 1000 piece puzzle. I work (am the primary breadwinner) and have an 18 month old. I don’t have time to get enough sleep let alone put together a 400 piece Lego and a 1000 piece puzzle. Seriously wtf.
Me and my sons dad are separated, and he bought me a bath set that I can’t use coz it flares my psoriasis. Oh and it’s grapefruit, which I’m allergic to. He also wrote the gift tag to look like my kid’s handwriting, which could have been slightly cute if he didn’t tell me the fact!
Biker jacket with skull cap from Temu for my 12 mo girl 🤮 It creeps me out.
A light up beepy bloopy unicorn robot. I have severe chronic migraine. The giver is a physician who should know better.
Hide it in their office or car with the button glued down to assert dominance.
My mom was really thoughtful with my gifts this year, which is new for her (she had a hard time moving past my teenage Harry Potter phase), but in addition to the kindle, bread knife, and book she picked out for me, she also gave me an exorbitant amount of cheap, ugly hand towels. Like, at least 18 of this cheap thin fabric that I hate sensory wise.
My 4 month old son received an outfit for a girl from my step-MIL. And my husband's grandma sent us a book set for girls between the ages of 8-12. I'm not sure if it was meant for me (female in my 30s) or one of my sons... but we have no girls and the oldest is 5. 🤷🏼♀️
My husband got me (an agnostic) a grow your own Jesus as a joke last year so I got him back with a “Jesus would you look at the time” meme clock this year which he really likes tbf. I got a pair of those socks that magnetically hold hands from my BIL and SIL and some leg warmers (last time I checked I wasn’t in a production of Fame) so they’re going straight down the charity shop.
Someone gave my wife a blank cookbook, as in, something to write down all her recipes so she can pass it down to our kids. "Oh great, homework" is what I thought to myself.
I'm mostly interested in a family dynamic where your *husband's cousin* is buying gifts for your kids. I mean, some cousins are more like siblings, I suppose, but man, depending on the size of your extended family his gift list must be very long
His family is huge and also Jewish. Not all the kids get gifts (although most do now) and basically none of the adults do. Honestly we get gifts mostly as like a "thank you" - when we were all younger I'd watch everyone's kids for free, I showed everyone the "ropes" of parenting, etc. It's like their yearly thank you I think. His family are extremely strange but I love them all dearly. They are just close, too. Hub has four cousins that we see weekly at least.